I’ve been a devoted practitioner of Getting Things Done for almost five years. During that time I’ve experimented with lots of software to help me manage my to-do list, and I’m excited to have found the best one yet: OmniFocus is still in beta, but it ships January 8 and you can bet I’m pre-ordering it.
Not only am I fan of the product itself, but I’m also impressed with how it came into being. It’s origins date from Kinkless GTD, an amazing set of Apple Scripts developed by a guy named Evan (couldn’t quickly find his last name) that run on top of OmniOutliner Pro. I first heard about Kinkless from 43 Folders and quickly drank the kool aid. While it wasn’t perfect, it was the best realization of GTD in software that I’d seen so far.
The Omni Group noticed this phenomenon and, apparently being smart people, contacted Evan about building a dedicated product that suited his vision. Which they did. Initially they worked with Evan as a consultant (they also consulted with Merlin Mann at 43 Folders), but they just announced that he is joining the company full time as VP of marketing. What a great story – a company the embraces that community and delivers a product from the bottom up, to the point that the community’s most prominent leader becomes an executive!
OmniFocus has been in alpha for a while, but I didn’t touch it because I didn’t want anything buggy potentially destroying my to-do list. But a couple days ago they announced their public beta. I downloaded it immediately and gave it a whirl. There were a couple of crashes initially, but it’s already self-updated a couple of times since then and I haven’t had any crashes since Friday.
I’m extremely happy with it and am already becoming a ninja. I can’t tell you how psyched I am about this product. It’s a great step forward toward the ultimate “mind like water” state GTD promises. Great job guys!